Challenges are obstacles that appear everywhere on our road of life, whether it is a fluorescent yellow roadblock or a rock the size of your fist, these hurdles cause problems that make our life harder. There are many different causes of these troubles, for example, lack of self-confidence due to previous failures, or running away from these issues like trying to find a side path that at first may seem empty of problems but only leads to a point of no return. And sometimes, it is not a cliff or a ditch in the middle of the road but a reflection of yourself, the you who is standing there seems to radiate doubt, every time you try to walk past, doubt floods your mind and swallows up your reasoning, you can never get past. The greatest challenge is yourself. Personally, fear is one of the greatest challenges of all that I need to deal with every single day, whether it is a spider running loose in my house or forgetting to wake up for school, if not face immediately the spider might reappear or I might be punished for arriving late to class. But one of the greatest challenges I had to face involved an elastic rope, a bridge, a plunge and of course, my fear of heights.
"Hey. Hey! Wake up, we're here!"
I am knocked back into reality from the world where pencils can talk and books can ambush strangers. Forcing my eyes open, sunlight streams in, momentarily blinding me with a sudden white light. Slowly adjusting, I make out the azure sky painted on top of the green and brown forest.
"Aaaaaaaagh!" someone screams.
A sharp pain blooms from the top of my head as I bolt upright.
"What was that?" I ask nervously.
"Oh hey, you're up. Welcome to Ambow, Washington! Oh wait, I mean Amboy... Never mind, anyways we're finally here!"
"Huh?" I stare back blankly at my cousin's glowing face.
Ignoring my dull reply, she scrambles out of the car and skips over to my parents who are standing in line for tickets. As I stride over, I slowly realize that not only is there a forest but also a bridge and on the bridge are people stepping off followed by a curdling scream. Reality hits me like a wave that engulfs a surfer; we are going bungee jumping when my worst fear of all is heights.
"Please Mom, Dad, I'm NOT doing that!" I plead pathetically.
"Come on, we've already bought the tickets and your Dad and I are certainly NOT jumping off a bridge anytime soon."
"Haha, what a chicken, won't even have some fun because she's afraid of heights!" my cousin teases.
Anger and shame boil up inside of me, fists clenched I seethe: "Fine! I'll go!"
Regret floods me instantly as I try to hold back the tears that are welling up.
Regret floods me instantly as I try to hold back the tears that are welling up.
"Click. Click. Click."
Each click of the buckles on the harness seem like the second hand on a clock counting down to my dreaded jump. My stomach seems to be dancing to a dissonant tune as it flips and turns violently. Permanent holes are burning into the back of my head as other tourists watch curiously as a wash of red creeps up from the back of my neck and slowly dominates my face. My palms are sticky with perspiration, my legs are trembling and despite the warm autumn currents gently flowing past there are chills running down my spine like ice-cold, ghostly fingers being dragged down my back. I manage to inch my way onto the jumping point. Peering down, I see a man the size of my fist waiting for my plunge.
"Whenever you're ready."
At that very moment, my legs decide to have a mind of their own and root themselves to the creaking wooden planks. The rest of the world disappears from my senses. Wind whistles a whining tune past my ears. Adrenaline is pumping blood into my brain causing a constant thumping inside my head. "Water!" my mouth screams as my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. The trees seem sharper than before, the greens are more vibrant, the sun is blinding. Blocking off all my senses, I step off the platform.
"So this is what it feels like to be flying." is the first thought that comes to my mind.
Peeking through the slits of my eyes I am mesmerized by the rush of browns, greens, and blues enveloping me. A strong force blows back my hair, streaming it out behind me, there is nothing holding me, I am free, free to fly like a bird. A brown and gray mess is growing in the corner of my vision. Suddenly I realize that my fate is to die sprawled and bloody on the rocky surface.
"This is your fault, I should have never listened to your stupid taunts." are the last words that enter my mind, or so I thought.
"Twaaaaang."
My eyes snap open as I fall back into my body when a sudden jolt runs through my body like an electric shock. Tattered, brown hiking boots, baggy khaki jeans, a black jacket and a friendly face appear before me, all upside down. Uncontrollable laughter escapes my lips as the maniacal sound bounces back from all four sides of the rocky cliffs filling the empty autumn breeze with my laughter.
Although jumping off the bridge may seem like a very big challenge, the movements and actions required to do so are very simple, just merely moving both legs forwards would complete the jump. The most difficult part of all is telling your legs to move in that manner when the whole time, your mind is screaming in denial and negative thoughts are filling every possible corner in your mind. Our mind is what makes us unique and one-of-a-kind, makes us ourselves, that is why the greatest challenges we face are usually psychological and when conquered once, will never pose as an obstacle again. Similarly if we look into the eyes of a tiger, who is a herbivore, the first thought that crosses your mind is most likely "Run!" even if you know through facts and reason that the tiger will not eat you. It is our psychological fear, what we have been taught and our instinct that tell us to bolt out of the cage of the vegetarian tiger who will not harm us; that is why the greatest challenge is with ourselves.
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